Hello, oddities of the universe, masses of unknown forces to be reckon with, and all-around weird persons! This is my second fanfiction on this account, as I have already posted 'Loony Lovegood', which, in my opinion, is a fantastic one-shot that I feel you are obligated to read, seeing everyone shall want to know Queen Awesome of Epic Proportions in the nearby future, and you will be very sorry, very sorry indeed if you do not hurry to read my fantastic stories which I am writing for your complete and utter entertainment. Anyways, since you undoubtedly will skip this little Author's Introduction, I see no difference to whether you shall skip the bold letters to the thin ones, and I do not feel obligated to write any longer, thus bringing us to our story.
. . .
Rhapsody was odd.
Of course, being so quiet and morbid all the time was considered weird in many ways, but that wasn't what was truly weird about her.
She was completely different from her otherwise normal parents; she wasn't as cheerful as her schoolmates; and she certainly wasn't perky and sweet like her school staff. Instead, she was quite the morbid little girl, and her appearance certainly didn't help.
She had long, usually windblown black hair that was so thick her copy of Jane Eyre couldn't compare. Her skin was an unhealthy ghost-white; so white it glowed in the dark, which helped her many times in her young life when she would hide under the covers at night and read The Picture of Dorain Gray. Her parents, however, had hair the color of a warm yellow, and their eyes were bright blue, whereas hers was a dark, illuminating violet color and was framed with dark, curling lashes, while her parents' eyelashes were a bright golden color; fluttering and utterly, frustratingly perfect.
Her sister was the miniature version of their parents: Long golden hair, beautiful blue eyes, and a pretty smile. However, looks can deceive- while she may have looked the part of a kindly princess, in reality she was petty, vain, and self-indulging. Only Rhapsody was the small little mark in their otherwise stainless family- in her parents' and sister's eyes, at least.
They had considered her odd, even making jokes about her weirdness at their fancy dining parties, which resulted in her not talking to them for days. It was no secret she was different from the rest of her family, but only when the owl came did it show she was more different from her family then it seemed.
Yes, indeed, the owl had made her current position as the family's oddity even worse. And it all happened one foggy, cold Monday morning.
Rhapsody was awaken at exactly 6:30 A.M. by her sister's incessant screaming. She stuffed her pillow under her head, but unfortunately she was on the brink of suffocating to death and was forced to trudge downstairs in her bed robe, wandered off where her sister's shrieks could be heard, and instantly stopped dead as she reached the threshold of the sitting room.
An owl was poking her sister with its sharp razor beak while it held a thick, yellow letter in one claw, and her parents were screaming in the corner as the owl had pecked her sister incessantly, not bothering to stop as it drew a small bloody cut on her cheek.
It was a scene that Rhapsody would have found amusing, but in this case it was frightening.
The owl suddenly whipped around in the air and gave her a fixed look with two glowing yellow eyes. Rhapsody didn't flinch as it came nearer towards her, nor did she give out a little scream like her sister (quite annoyingly) was continuing to do, as it hovered above her hands and dropped the thick, yellow letter in her white palms. Then it flew out the opened Victorian window with a graceful swoop in the air; and it was gone.
With trembling fingers, she opened the yellowed parchment and let out a tiny squeak as her eyes scanned the letter. It read in loopy handwriting:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Miss Cypress,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
"This is some sort of twisted joke, is it not?" Rhapsody managed to gasp out, and her mother shook her head meekly, while her father and sister shared a look of shock and utter dismay as they grabbed the letter from Rhapsody's grasping hand and read the note in utter astonishment.
"I- I know you might consider me to be extremely foolhardy, Rhapsody, but I couldn't stand another moment in the Wizarding World, I had to get away, I had too!" Her mother cried out, and burst into terrified tears as she sank on one of the puffy, extravagant couches near the fireplace.
"Mum… what are you talking about? Is the world going mad, or is it just us?" Rhapsody asked in mock curiosity, and her mother laughed bitterly.
"I suppose it is just us, for I am harboring a secret I wished to be kept a secret, but unfortunately I cannot Obliviate you- that would be extremely unladylike of me, and I will not be called a monstrosity in the Wizarding World; no, I fear I must tell you the truth, though it is very stupid of me to do so.
"You are a witch, Rhapsody- and I don't mean the horrid kind, I mean that you are a sincere magical creature. Hogwarts is where I attended when I was younger- it was such a superb school, and it taught me all I know. However, Lord V-Voldemort-" She gave a tiny little shudder at the name, though Rhapsody couldn't possibly know why- "Was on Muggle-Born mass murdering session, and as my dad was a Muggle I knew he would come for me, next. Indeed, when I got home for Christmas Break I found my parents lying dead on the carpet, and-"
She burst into tears, and Rhapsody sank into the couch and threw her arms around her mother.
"I haven't a clue what you have just said, and I do not know why you are speaking of words that cease to exist, unless my dictionary proves otherwise. But you say… you say I am a witch of magic power- is this your definition of making a laugh, or are you speaking of the truth?" Rhapsody gently asked her, and her mother, still quavering, nodded feverishly in response.
"I am not lying, Rhapsody- you are a witch, and you must attend Hog-"
"Over my dead body, Arianna! I will not have my daughter go to a false school for crackpots, nor will I allow you to spew such lies to her!" Her father intervened suddenly, and Rhapsody flinched as spit dripped onto his mustache.
"But, you see," Arianna said softly, so softly that Rhapsody strained to hear, "She is not your daughter."
So, my young Harry Potter fanatics, what do you think of this entirely incomprehensible first chapter? I know it sounds a bit old-fashioned, but that is how I shall write from now on, and I don't want to be given crap about it, alright? And as for the cliffhanger, I'll just explain now: Arianna is Aberfoth (Dumbledore's brother)'s son's daughter, and she married Tom Riddle while he was just starting to become a Death Eater; reluctantly, she became one, but as soon as he started the first mass muggle killings she ran away while she was pregnant with Rhapsody and married Rhapsody's father, thus giving him the impression Rhapsody was his daughter all along. HA! Spoilers- you gotta love them… unless you are, in fact, the people who are getting the spoilers and you are decidedly not the person who is spoiling it for you. I assume the next chapter shall be up in a few hours or tomorrow; whichever comes first, and with that, I must depart from this long ending, mostly because I have wasted most of your time giving you spoilers about the next chapter, where Arianna takes Rhapsody out to Diagon Alley…
-Sarcastic Clapping, A.K.A. Queen Awesome of Epic Proportions, A.K.A. Lyricalyrics A.K.A. Potterhead Enthusiast, A.K.A. Proud RavenPuff, A.K.A. Mayor of Wackspurts and Head Chief of S.P.E.W., A.K.A. pure brilliance reincarnated into one divine form, A.K.A. President of the Sirius Black Fan Club, A.K.A. The girl with a thousand names but usually known as the way someone puts their hands together repeatedly in a snarky way